I have an acquaintance who goes to Ephesus yearly. That is one shrine I have always wanted to visit. Our Lady Mary was given to St. John and he was given to Mary. The small house they shared, full of prayer and light, must be wonderful to visit.

I can imagine Mary being in union with the Trinity more than any other human being can ever be, the most perfect, most beautiful person ever created by God.

I can imagine her serving John and he serving her for the time they had together. One can only imagine the graces of the two humans loved by Christ more than any other people who ever walked the earth.

God blesses us in our friendships. He blesses some in their families. Some of us have "virtual friendships" for which we are extremely grateful.

Both my son and I have been told that our home is the Church. How interesting.

It is true. My primary relationships are my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Sometimes, I think of my dear saint, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who managed to get all his brothers, his one sister, and his father into monasteries. These relationships then became renewed, lifted up from the purely physical to the spiritual.

How wonderful, how amazing. One of my friends in Ireland who is now very old had several sisters and brothers who were priests and nuns. Can one imagine such a gift as sharing the life of Christ in the priesthood and in religious life with one's siblings?

I pray for my siblings, and I am sure many of you pray for those in your families who have fallen away. I pray we may share eternal life together, rejoicing in the Lord, rejoicing in being brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Mary needed John and John needed Mary. There mother-son relationship was raised above those of the world. St Augustine writes of the sublime mysteries he and his mother discussed. They, too, became brother and sister in the Lord. Mary stayed here until her death and her assumption, which we celebrate tomorrow.

The House at Loreto is Mary's house, but the one where she lived as a child and until the Ascension.

Ephesus means care and love, a little bit of the sharing of heaven on earth, to me. Perhaps, someday, like my acquaintance, I can go and stand at the Holy House.

Sometimes, we are faced with tremendous evil in our lives and the lives of family or friends. Years ago, one of my friends committed suicide. The horror of her despair with life was complicated by the fact that her father, a doctor, had done the same. I cannot imagine how the mother of the family felt.

I got through this time, as did all of us who were this beautiful woman's friends, by planning a memorial service for her, as no one in the family could do this for her friends at university. About eighty people came. I organized the readings, music, participants, artwork on the program, making of the program and the booking of the room and set-up and so on.

Afterwards, a person who is still a non-believer, came up to me and said how necessary and lovely the service was. Most of the people there needed a time to mourn and pray. We moved towards God in that service, away from death and sadness, away from loss and doubt, to the foot of the Throne.

What one does in such times of great sadness and trouble is to face the light.

Several years ago, in 2010, to be exact, I had a fourth brush with death. I shall not give details, but while convalescing, I had a strange dream which was striking.

I was standing on a beach by a pristine sea which was lapping up against light colored sand, when a young girl of about fifteen came up to me and grabbed my hand. She was dressed in Elizabethan clothes, like a wedding costume, with pearls all over the headdress and dress. She was lovely. She looked very healthy, with pink cheeks and bright eyes. She was not thin, but stocky and "sporty" looking, like an athlete. She ran with me, still holding my hand, to a white lighthouse up a small hill at the edge of the beach, to the east, as I knew, and we literally raced up the winding stairs to a large window at the top. There, the young woman pointed to the bright, bright sky, the bright sea, the bright sand-a beautiful world of light. She said my name and then added, "Look, look to the Light. Look to the Light, always."

Then, she disappeared. When I awoke, I knew my illness was not unto death. I felt "well" and peaceful. I knew what the dream meant. Always look beyond the trial to Christ, the Light of the World. I was puzzled as to the identity of the young woman. I shared the dream with my son, who, as I expressed that I did not know who the girl was, gave me one of those, "Boy, Mum, are you dense," looks. "Mother, what was the girl wearing?" (I had taught son and others in Socratic Method, so I was getting this back, btw.) "Elizabethan costume," I murmured. Son replied, "And, what is the name of your sister?" "Elizabeth." I said with the little lightbulb going on in my head. Son went on. "Your sister, Elizabeth, Elizabethan. She was trying to tell you something."

My sister died a few days before her first birthday. She is, of course, in heaven. I added to the discussion with my son, as I knew that pearls, as in my favorite poem, The Pearl, are symbols of virginity and purity. She is with the virgins, the pure little ones, in heaven.

Yes, it was Elizabeth, Beth Ann, teaching me a deep, abiding message.

When in difficulties or even facing death, look to the Light, who is Christ, Beth Ann's Bridegroom and mine.

The world will become more and more dark, more and more evil, as God is allowing this trial to come upon us because of the many sins, such as abortion and sodomy, to name just two, which cry out to God for vengeance.

Jane Seymour Painting with Similar Design

But, we do not have to concentrate on the darkness. "Look, look to the Light," said little St. Elizabeth of Davenport. "Look to the Light always."

Leon Bloy

Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma

The Church Must Not Be Defensive

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Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics

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GUILD PRAYER

God our Father, source of life and freedom, through Your Holy Spirit you gave the Carmelite, Titus Brandsma the courage to affirm human dignity even in the midst of suffering and degrading persecution.

Grant us that same spirit so that, in refusing all compromise with error we may always and everywhere give coherent witness to Your abiding presence among us.